Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

At an interesting panel* at SXSW 09 , YinYin He demonstrated a device she created, dubbed "Patches," that was designed for touch via the Facebook "poke" interaction. This little patch, easily worn on your clothing, has sensors inside it that vibrate or "buzz" when you're poked on Facebook. After a Facebook user "pokes" you, a message is sent to a server and them to a microcontroller on the patch. A text message is also sent to your mobile device.

The patch is made of snaps, conductive thread, fabrics, and grey thermocromic ink (the same stuff mood rings are made out of).  Pretty cool, huh?

So for those of you that always thought the good old Facebook "poke" was pretty pointless, maybe we're on our way to a more interactive experience via touch technology.

*Touching Me Touching You: How We Feel Technology